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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated Surviving AI: The promise and peril of artificial intelligence in Books
Jan 3, 2018
Good overview of the major talking points of AI
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI or AI) is a very important topics for us all to understand, as it will dictate the future of our world. To get this education right is difficult, as it spans the simple everyday and the complex future all in one.
This book does a great job of explaining AI to all levels of audience including a layman, and will inform you so that you can become central to, or part of, this important debate, and not just a bystander.
This book does a great job of explaining AI to all levels of audience including a layman, and will inform you so that you can become central to, or part of, this important debate, and not just a bystander.
David McK (3191 KP) rated Crucible (Sigma Force #14) in Books
Feb 20, 2022
Entry #14 in James Rollins now long-running Sigma Force series; again a mixture of science and fiction: think Dan Brown, maybe, or even Michael Crichton.
This time around, the threat that Sigma force (and, perforce, the world) faces is one of our own making: that of Artificial Intelligence (or AI), and - more specifically - that of an 'evil' (one with no moral qualms or compunctions) AI let loose. So, think Terminator's Skynet, basically.
If you've read any of the previous entries in the series, you know pretty much what to expect ...
This time around, the threat that Sigma force (and, perforce, the world) faces is one of our own making: that of Artificial Intelligence (or AI), and - more specifically - that of an 'evil' (one with no moral qualms or compunctions) AI let loose. So, think Terminator's Skynet, basically.
If you've read any of the previous entries in the series, you know pretty much what to expect ...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2072 KP) rated You've Got Murder (Turing Hopper, #1) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Turing Hopper is the first sentient Artificial Intelligence Personality. The only person who knows the truth is her creator, but when he goes missing, Turing does what she can to track him down, pulling in two additional humans to be her legs.
The creativity in this book is wonderful. Turing is such a human character you can't help but love her, and the author makes great use of the characters to tell an unique story. Definitely worth tracking down.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/02/book-review-youve-got-murder-by-donna.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
The creativity in this book is wonderful. Turing is such a human character you can't help but love her, and the author makes great use of the characters to tell an unique story. Definitely worth tracking down.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/02/book-review-youve-got-murder-by-donna.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Upgrade (2018) in Movies
Feb 10, 2020
Seeking Revenge
Upgrade- directed by Liegh Whannell was a excellent, fantasic movie. Than combines sci-fi, action and horror into one movie. Think Robocop, Dredd and Terminator all combine into one movie with the horror espect.
The plot: A brutal mugging leaves Grey Trace paralyzed in the hospital and his beloved wife dead. A billionaire inventor soon offers Trace a cure -- an artificial intelligence implant called STEM that will enhance his body. Now able to walk, Grey finds that he also has superhuman strength and agility -- skills he uses to seek revenge against the thugs who destroyed his life.
If you like seek revenge movies like Dredd and Robocop than you will love this movie. Logan Marshall-Green is excellent and Leigh Whannell does a excellent job directing.
The plot: A brutal mugging leaves Grey Trace paralyzed in the hospital and his beloved wife dead. A billionaire inventor soon offers Trace a cure -- an artificial intelligence implant called STEM that will enhance his body. Now able to walk, Grey finds that he also has superhuman strength and agility -- skills he uses to seek revenge against the thugs who destroyed his life.
If you like seek revenge movies like Dredd and Robocop than you will love this movie. Logan Marshall-Green is excellent and Leigh Whannell does a excellent job directing.
Hazel (1853 KP) rated The Switch in Books
Aug 16, 2017
What's going on?
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
“Harmony welcomes it model citizens.” The Switch by Justina Robson takes place on a … planet? … space station? … named Harmony. Only perfect people are allowed to be part of society, which is bad news for orphans Nico and Twostar. No defects are allowed, including homosexuality, which puts the main characters in a dangerous situation. So, when they are offered a chance to escape, they leap at the chance without stopping to think about the consequences.
In order to be truly free, Nico has to have some form of artificial intelligence inserted into him. What he does not realise is that this will make him more trapped than he was before. Someone wishes to control him in order to find out information. Only when that task is fulfilled will he and his friend Two be free. Until then, Nico has to survive being sentenced to death for a murder he has no recollection of committing.
The Switch is a very complicated and confusing story. To be completely honest, I have no idea what happened in it. I got the vague gist of the story, which I have just summarised, but the rest of it went straight over my head. It all seems to be about artificial intelligence versus some weird religion … I think. Genetic engineering appears to be some kind of theme, too, although I may be wrong. One thing that definitely features in the story is violence; too much violence.
Hand in hand with the violence is filthy language. There is far too much swearing that it becomes meaningless and comes across as a lack of vocabulary on the author’s part.
It is hard to review a book that you do not understand. Either it is written really badly or my brain is not wired in the right way to understand all the sci-fi language and ideas.
“Harmony welcomes it model citizens.” The Switch by Justina Robson takes place on a … planet? … space station? … named Harmony. Only perfect people are allowed to be part of society, which is bad news for orphans Nico and Twostar. No defects are allowed, including homosexuality, which puts the main characters in a dangerous situation. So, when they are offered a chance to escape, they leap at the chance without stopping to think about the consequences.
In order to be truly free, Nico has to have some form of artificial intelligence inserted into him. What he does not realise is that this will make him more trapped than he was before. Someone wishes to control him in order to find out information. Only when that task is fulfilled will he and his friend Two be free. Until then, Nico has to survive being sentenced to death for a murder he has no recollection of committing.
The Switch is a very complicated and confusing story. To be completely honest, I have no idea what happened in it. I got the vague gist of the story, which I have just summarised, but the rest of it went straight over my head. It all seems to be about artificial intelligence versus some weird religion … I think. Genetic engineering appears to be some kind of theme, too, although I may be wrong. One thing that definitely features in the story is violence; too much violence.
Hand in hand with the violence is filthy language. There is far too much swearing that it becomes meaningless and comes across as a lack of vocabulary on the author’s part.
It is hard to review a book that you do not understand. Either it is written really badly or my brain is not wired in the right way to understand all the sci-fi language and ideas.
Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated Demon Seed: A novel of terror to horrify you this Halloween in Books
May 16, 2018
One of the things I’ve noticed when I’m running around between thrift stores is an abundance of Dean Koontz novels. That said, I’ve definitely been stockpiling them up, and the first one I read out of my Koontz pile is Demon Seed. Demon Seed is told from a rather peculiar perspective: that of a computer with artificial intelligence. Before I delve deeper into my thoughts on Demon Seed, I would like to note that this is a copy of the 1997 release, and not the original novel published in 1973. There are differences in the two books, however because I have not happened to lay hands upon the original version, I am unable to compare or contrast their contents. As such, my review is based solely upon the second version of the book, which is told solely from the perspective of Proteus, the artificial intelligence program that is all too frighteningly real.
The idea of a computer striking fear into someone’s heart is a bit of an oddball, but with the idea of artificial intelligence an all too possible reality, fear over what could happen should the AI take control of itself and evolve is real. In Demon Seed that science is taken too far when Proteus takes control of his own programming and not only stalks the recently divorced Susan Harris, but holds her captive within her own home. With a plan for the ideal race of humans on its mind, Proteus sets forth on a horrifying adventure to create for himself the perfect body, and poor Susan is a key player in his endeavor.
As a premise, especially for something originally written in the early 70’s, the idea behind Demon Seed is intriguing. I find Proteus to be a very disturbing character, and the way in which Koontz pens Proteus gives me chills. I remember once, a long time ago, having a similar feeling while reading a novel by P. T. Deutermann, in which the occasional chapter was in the killer’s perspective. I don’t remember the name of the book, only the fact that I was left nerve-wracked. Koontz’s Proteus is not too far off from that mark and the mere fact that Koontz is able to capture that essence of a true sociopath with an inanimate object (if I can really call Proteus that) probably factors into my opinion on the book the most. The other characters, and to some degree Susan as well, strike me as a bit one-dimensional. They have a single, solitary purpose and while they possess wildly different backgrounds, the way in which the story progresses does not leave room for the development of feelings toward the characters.
Demon Seed is an extremely quick read, and if you’ve got the time to sit for a few hours and thumb through its pages, I’d definitely recommend it. While it isn’t among my favorite books, and only receives a passing “meh” score from me, it was enjoyable. The linear plot line, told from a single, solitary perspective, makes it an easy read as well. There is also a movie adaptation of the novel, but it is not presently on my to-watch list.
The idea of a computer striking fear into someone’s heart is a bit of an oddball, but with the idea of artificial intelligence an all too possible reality, fear over what could happen should the AI take control of itself and evolve is real. In Demon Seed that science is taken too far when Proteus takes control of his own programming and not only stalks the recently divorced Susan Harris, but holds her captive within her own home. With a plan for the ideal race of humans on its mind, Proteus sets forth on a horrifying adventure to create for himself the perfect body, and poor Susan is a key player in his endeavor.
As a premise, especially for something originally written in the early 70’s, the idea behind Demon Seed is intriguing. I find Proteus to be a very disturbing character, and the way in which Koontz pens Proteus gives me chills. I remember once, a long time ago, having a similar feeling while reading a novel by P. T. Deutermann, in which the occasional chapter was in the killer’s perspective. I don’t remember the name of the book, only the fact that I was left nerve-wracked. Koontz’s Proteus is not too far off from that mark and the mere fact that Koontz is able to capture that essence of a true sociopath with an inanimate object (if I can really call Proteus that) probably factors into my opinion on the book the most. The other characters, and to some degree Susan as well, strike me as a bit one-dimensional. They have a single, solitary purpose and while they possess wildly different backgrounds, the way in which the story progresses does not leave room for the development of feelings toward the characters.
Demon Seed is an extremely quick read, and if you’ve got the time to sit for a few hours and thumb through its pages, I’d definitely recommend it. While it isn’t among my favorite books, and only receives a passing “meh” score from me, it was enjoyable. The linear plot line, told from a single, solitary perspective, makes it an easy read as well. There is also a movie adaptation of the novel, but it is not presently on my to-watch list.
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow in Books
Jan 10, 2018
An interesting theory undermined by flimsy argument and unconvincing evidence
@Yuval Noah Harari once again returns with another thought-provoking anthropological book, similar to @Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, however, this time he turns his focus toward humanity's future, and our quest to upgrade humans into gods.
The implications for the developments in artificial intelligence and genetic engineering - and the combining of the two are mind-blowing and we ignore them at our peril. The same applies to the amount "the system" knows about us from how we use the internet. It is alarming how willingly we have walked down that path.
While Sapiens had a few historical tenets and facts that Harari was able to access with a clear argument, given his historian background, there was a tendency in this volume to set up unrealistic false dichotomies, and 'creatively' misinterpret belief systems in order to bolster his increasingly thin argument.
The thrust of what Harari is saying may well be true, but what I would have liked to see him do is to discuss the implications a bit more thoughtfully and, in effect, set an agenda for discussion.
The implications for the developments in artificial intelligence and genetic engineering - and the combining of the two are mind-blowing and we ignore them at our peril. The same applies to the amount "the system" knows about us from how we use the internet. It is alarming how willingly we have walked down that path.
While Sapiens had a few historical tenets and facts that Harari was able to access with a clear argument, given his historian background, there was a tendency in this volume to set up unrealistic false dichotomies, and 'creatively' misinterpret belief systems in order to bolster his increasingly thin argument.
The thrust of what Harari is saying may well be true, but what I would have liked to see him do is to discuss the implications a bit more thoughtfully and, in effect, set an agenda for discussion.
Lenard (726 KP) rated Child's Play (2019) in Movies
Jul 2, 2019 (Updated Jul 2, 2019)
Contains spoilers, click to show
I saw the film opening weekend and sat next to an eight-year-old boy who was going to his first horror movie. Considering the original Child's Play was the first horror movie I watched after being scarred by It and The Shining, I could appreciate how this film would effect that boy. As a gateway to the genre, Child's Play is and will serve a purpose. The scares are simple and the terror tame. In this iteration, a doll with built-in artificial intelligence and wireless connectivity names itself Chucky after being given to the solitary Andy. The doll had been given a bug right before the worker who built him committed suicide (not an important plot point). Chucky imprints himself onto Andy and all he wants to do is please his best friend. Unfortunately, Andy is a little weird and doesn't make friends easily. But he does make friends with two neighbor children who expose Andy and Chucky to gore. A murderous plan is set into motion and the only person who can prevent a Robopocalypse before the Buddi2 dolls are put onto market is Andy.
Anna Steele (111 KP) rated Thunderhead (Arc of a Scythe #2) in Books
Jun 25, 2018
I am extremely shook
Neal Shusterman has just reinstated himself as my all-time favorite author. His books have been with me throughout my life. The Unwind dystology, The Skinjacker Trilogy, Bruiser, Challenger Deep, and now the Arc of a Scythe. Each one of these stories has touched me in a deep and unique way. Thunderhead is no exception. Book one of this series: Scythe, received my first 10/10 review on this platform and the sequel was even better. Shusterman provides jaw-dropping twists and turns to his narrative that will leave your head spinning and your blood pumping, (your nanites might even have to lower your adrenaline). The Thunderhead is a compassionate character like no other, who knew you could ever relate so strongly and feel so deeply for an artificial intelligence? It is witty and sly, calculating and benevolent, and can be brought into a fury or plunged into despair by the acts of the immortal humans who created it. I need the continuation of this series and I need it now, the final moments are so intense that I choked on my tears after the last line. This is the most mentally engaging dystopian society novel you will ever read. I hope to come back to Shusterman for more in the coming years.
Becs (244 KP) rated Death Logs Out in Books
Aug 9, 2018
Great Thriller
I received a physical copy from Smith Publicity to review honestly and would like to thank them, along with the author for taking the time to send this out to me.
Firstly, the short chapters were what took half a star away. They work in this novel but the first couple was just a bit hard to get into and were kind of a bore. But, since I can't DNF a book, I kept trekking along regardless. I was met with an action-packed, page-turning thriller that kept me on my toes.
Religion, Nazi's, afterlife, artificial intelligence, and tons of action is littered throughout the novel. And boy, does it make it one heck of a book! This is the third installment of the Michael Nicholas series, but don't let that close the door for you on this novel. Be it a stand-alone or part of a series, this book is great either way.
The way that E. J. Simon writes, creates a sense of realism around Death Logs Out. And with the high -ranking Vatican villains, it makes you question and reevaluate the real world. Novel's like this, are the main reason why I enjoy reading Thrillers.
Firstly, the short chapters were what took half a star away. They work in this novel but the first couple was just a bit hard to get into and were kind of a bore. But, since I can't DNF a book, I kept trekking along regardless. I was met with an action-packed, page-turning thriller that kept me on my toes.
Religion, Nazi's, afterlife, artificial intelligence, and tons of action is littered throughout the novel. And boy, does it make it one heck of a book! This is the third installment of the Michael Nicholas series, but don't let that close the door for you on this novel. Be it a stand-alone or part of a series, this book is great either way.
The way that E. J. Simon writes, creates a sense of realism around Death Logs Out. And with the high -ranking Vatican villains, it makes you question and reevaluate the real world. Novel's like this, are the main reason why I enjoy reading Thrillers.